Hey, I don't own Inuyasha or any of the characters. So please don't sue me.
"Are you ill, Kagome?"
"Hmm?" Lifting her gaze from the ground, she was faced with the concerned expressions of her friends. "What?"
"You're very pale today." Eri tilted her head squinted up at the sky as they walked. Kagome took off her sunglasses and adjusted them as a headband on top of her head. Although they were all pursuing different majors, she and her friends from junior high still made time once a week to hang out. .
"And quiet." Yuka said. Eri was squinting so hard that Kagome wondered if she was going blind.
"I'm just tired." Kagome said, forcing a smile. "I had some hard exams this week, and pulled several all-nighters. I'm still catching up on my sleep."
"Guess who I saw at the grocery store yesterday." Ayumi said slyly.
"Who?"She said absently.
"Hojo!" Ayumi squealed, clapping her hands together. "We started talking, and then he asked about you, and-"
"He asked about me?" Kagome frowned. "Why?"
"What do you mean, why?" Eri shook her head. "He's always had such a huge crush on you, Kagome. You know that."
"No, I knew he that he had a huge crush on me." Kagome said dryly. "And that was years ago, in junior high. I doubt he still has a thing for me."
"Well, he does." Ayumi said. "And I gave him your number."
"He was such a nice guy." Yuka tilted her head thoughtfully.
"Wasn't he going to get married?"
"Not anymore." Ayumi grinned.
"But I don't know him, not anymore. None of us are the same people we were back in junior high." Kagome felt a sudden desperate need to escape the conversation. "Anyone up for the newTony Chow movie? I heard it's hilarious."
"Sure."
"Why not!"
"Whatever happened to that boyfriend you had back then, Kagome?" Ayumi asked, clearly unable to switch to something else. "He was the reason you never got together with Hojo back then, right? That one with the bad temper?"
"We... broke up." Kagome's voice cracked slightly, and she felt a swell of anger for it. She wasn't supposed to be one of those women that fell apart over a guy. And yet here she was, with tears threatening to burn at the back of her eyes and her voice breaking. This wasn't her. She was stronger than this.
"When?"
"Well...I haven't seen him in nearly three years."
"Really? Three years? Wow. And how guys have you dated since then?"
"Well, there was Kisho, and then Tomo and Haru, and-"
"I mean seriously dated," Ayumi shook her head. "Not dated as in one date and then giving them the heave-ho."
"How about that movie?" Kagome asked shrilly. "Because if we're going to continue on with this conversation, I'm going to go home. I have plenty of other things I could be doing today."
"I'd like to see that movie." Eri said after a moment. "I think Tony Chow is really cute."
"Good." Kagome said with a stilted voice, embarrassed by her outburst. "Lets go, then."
> > > > > > > >
Later that night, as Kagome sat in front of her mirror brushing her hair, she couldn't help thinking about what day it was.
Three years ago tonight, the jewel had been made whole. Three years ago today, Inuyasha had left her.
Staring at her reflection in the mirror, she wondered what he would think if he saw her now, how she had grown and the things she had accomplished. She wondered if she would ask him to stay. And if she did ask him to, she wondered if he would want to.
A flash of light caught the corner of her eye. It was coming from under her floorboards, the place where she had hidden the Shikon jewel.
Rushing over, she dropped to her knees and pried up the loose floorboard. There was nothing there other than the small bottle and several large clumps of dust.
"I must be imagining things." She said to herself as she reached down and picked up the glass bottle. Inside, the Shikon jewel gleamed in the light of the overhead lamp. The bottle felt surprisingly warm beneath her fingertips, so she pulled out the cork and tilted the bottle until the jewel slid into her palm.
A shock coursed through her, as strong and as violent as though she had been electrocuted. In the instant before her vision went black, she thought she saw the flashing of amber eyes. She fell into darkness.